CAP 17 CAP 6 - Part 1 - Concept Poll 4

Poll 4 - The final concept poll!! Both these concepts are interesting and fun and should give us a totally new direction for discussion. I'm really looking forward to it!

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General Description: A good user of moves with effects not frequently used in the OU metagame.

Justification: There are many moves in Pokémon with great effects, but they often end up unused. Moves such as Gravity, Snatch, and Safeguard have potential in OU, but they are neglected for several reasons: the moves are apparently overshadowed, have poor distribution, or are inefficient compared to another strategy. This CAP uses a combination of typing, ability, and stats to make these underused moves not only feasible, but also capable.

Questions To Be Answered:

What mechanics of Pokémon determine how viable moves are?--not only the Pokémon's typing, stats, and ability, but also its interaction with playstyles and momentum.

What new strategies might emerge by giving a new OU Pokémon underused moves?

What challenges do Pokémon that use lesser-used moves face compared to ones that use a more standard moveset?

If the Pokémon has options of staple OU moves (high-powered STABs, offensive stat-boosting moves, reliable recovery, Substitute), will those moves be useful to it, even if it's specialized toward a separate and distinct strategy?

Can underused moves increase other underused moves' viabilities?

Can one user of a strategy unrecognized in a metagame massively influence a pre-existing playstyle?

Explanation:My inspiration for the concept stems from Sigilyph. Take the move Cosmic Power. It is a defense-boosting move, and it is avoided by OU user Jirachi, as even though Jirachi can wall and/or stall with this move, it is susceptible to multiple threats. First, it can be the recipient of a status effect that limits its walling capability. Additionally, opponents can put a Substitute up and boost their stats, while Jirachi is unable to break the Substitute without giving the opponent an advantage in terms of boosts. Using Cosmic Power Jirachi makes it a sitting duck.

However, take a look at Sigilyph. This Pokémon is able to remove the flaws of using Cosmic Power through a combination of other lesser-used moves. Any status conditions it receives can be given to the opponent with Psycho Shift, and as it gains stat boosts with Cosmic Power, Stored Power increases in damage, making Sigilyph not only a sturdy wall, but also an offensive threat to non-Dark-types. It can Roost off any damage it does receive and thus continue boosting. That is just one possibility Game Freak has granted to the Pokémon metagame. Many moves that appear flimsy on their own chain well with other moves, and a Pokémon's typing, ability, and stats will increase their viabilities. Users of lesser-used moves can reveal an unexplored niche in the metagame and restore the viability of a lesser-used playstyle, giving fresh life to OU.

Additional: I had a small compilation of 'interesting' moves that originally was in my Justification, but it became too lengthy. The moves included in it are Reflect Type, Soak, Aqua Ring, Telekinesis, Role Play, Whirlpool (and clones), Entrainment, Imprison, Heal Block, and Power Trick.

General Description: This Pokemon performs a role in the current Overused metagame identical to that of another Pokemon’s role within another metagame.

Justification: The state of the Overused metagame is about as solidified as it is going to get for the fifth generation of Pokemon. However, many of its players are still unhappy with how the metagame plays, and opt out to play other tiers and metagames (both past generations and other current tiers). In choosing the metagame that is widely celebrated, and pinpointing a Pokemon’s role that brings success to that metagame, is it possible to convert our current Overused metagame to become more enjoyable?

Questions to Answer:· What makes a desirable metagame? What doesn't?· Which metagames exhibit desirable characteristics? What makes them that way?· Which Pokemon lend themselves most towards making that metagame desirable?· What roles of those Pokemon are absent in our current metagame? Why are they absent?· How can we revive or rebuild that role within the current Overused metagame?

Explanation: If you’re familiar with Voodoom’s concept (CAP 11), this follows the same rhythm in that it attempts to build a Pokemon with the assistance of a currently existing Pokemon. Where they differ is that Voodoom worked at forming a core, while this concept aims to replicate a Pokemon’s role from another metagame into our current Overused metagame. The goal here is to teach us about the “enjoyability” of a metagame, which is something we haven’t delved into in the past. What makes a metagame fun? What are the reasons for that?

I’m purposefully leaving this concept vague in order to give us maximum flexibility. This concept is open to literally any metagame. We could dive all the way back to second generation and look into forces like Curselax and Zapdos. We also have the flexibility to work with a current metagame that differs from Overused, such as Underused, Neverused, or even something obscure like Balanced Hackmons. The role that the Pokemon performs can be as centralizing as Kyogre in current Ubers, or as obscure as Scraggy being a late-game setup sweeper in Little Cup. Our goal would be to discuss which metagames are fun, and more importantly, why they are so enjoyable. Once we pinpoint that down, we can work towards creating a Pokemon that would shift Overused in that direction.

As a result of the vagueness, we may need to have some extra polls and discussions here, similar to how we voted on which Pokemon to pair Voodoom up with during CAP 11. Those extra topics and discussions give us a bit of a break from the typical CAP process, which also leads into some curious conversations. Our conversations will also be subjectively based around obscure concepts like fun and enjoyment, which should allow us to learn more about what kind of a metagame we’re all striving to play. This concept will lead to conversations that we've never had before as a Create-A-Pokemon Project, and that’s worth exploring.